Sunday, June 27, 2010

Weekly Address: President Obama Urges Congress to Complete Work on Wall Street Reform Bill

Weekly Address: President Obama Urges Congress to Complete Work on Wall Street Reform Bill: "

WASHINGTON – In this week’s address, President Barack Obama asks Congress to pass historic Wall Street reform which will make the toughest financial reforms since the Great Depression the law of the land.  The Wall Street reform bill, which reflects 90 percent of what the President originally proposed, includes the strongest consumer financial protections in history with an independent agency to enforce them.  It ensures that the trading of derivatives, which helped trigger the crisis, will be brought into the light of day, and enacts the “Volcker Rule,” which will make sure banks protected by safety nets like the FDIC cannot engage in risky trades. And, this bill will create a resolution authority to wind down firms whose collapse would threaten the entire financial system.  Wall Street reform will end taxpayer funded bailouts and make sure Main Street is never again held responsible for Wall Street’s mistakes.

 

The full audio of the address is HERE. The video can be viewed online at www.whitehouse.gov.


Remarks of President Barack Obama

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Weekly Address

Washington, DC


This weekend, I’m traveling to Toronto to meet with members of the G20. There, I hope we can build on the progress we made at last year’s G20 summits by coordinating our global financial reform efforts to make sure a crisis like the one from which we are still recovering never happens again. We’ve made great progress toward passing such reform here at home. As I speak, we are on the cusp of enacting the toughest financial reforms since the Great Depression.


I don’t have to tell you why these reforms are so important. We’re still digging ourselves out of an economic crisis that happened largely because there wasn’t strong enough oversight on Wall Street. We can’t build a strong economy in America over the long-run without ending this status quo, and laying a new foundation for growth and prosperity.


That’s what the Wall Street reforms currently making their way through Congress will help us do – reforms that represent 90% of what I proposed when I took up this fight. We’ll put in place the strongest consumer financial protections in American history, and create an independent agency with an independent director and an independent budget to enforce them.


Credit card companies will no longer be able to mislead you with pages and pages of fine print. You will no longer be subject to all kinds of hidden fees and penalties, or the predatory practices of unscrupulous lenders.


Instead, we’ll make sure credit card companies and mortgage companies play by the rules.  And you’ll be empowered with easy-to-understand forms, and the clear and concise information you need to make the financial decisions that are best for you and your family.


Wall Street reform will also strengthen our economy in a number of other ways. We’ll make our financial system more transparent by bringing the kinds of complex trades that helped trigger this crisis – trades in a $600 trillion derivatives market – finally into the light of day.


We’ll enact what’s called the Volcker Rule to make sure banks protected by a safety net like the FDIC can’t engage in risky trades for their own profit. We’ll create what’s called a resolution authority to help wind down firms whose collapse would threaten our entire financial system. Put simply, we’ll end the days of taxpayer-funded bailouts, and help make sure Main Street is never again held responsible for Wall Street’s mistakes.


Beyond these reforms, we also need to address another piece of unfinished business. We need to impose a fee on the banks that were the biggest beneficiaries of taxpayer assistance at the height of our financial crisis – so we can recover every dime of taxpayer money.


Getting this far on Wall Street reform hasn’t been easy. There are those who’ve fought tooth and nail to preserve the status quo. In recent months, they’ve spent millions of dollars and hired an army of lobbyists to stop reform dead in its tracks.


But because we refused to back down, and kept fighting, we now stand on the verge of victory. And I urge Congress to take us over the finish line, and send me a reform bill I can sign into law, so we can empower our people with consumer protections, and help prevent a financial crisis like this from ever happening again.

"

Thursday, June 24, 2010

(Video) USA vs. Algeria Fifa World Cup 2010 Full Highlights and Donovan’s Goal

(Video) USA vs. Algeria Fifa World Cup 2010 Full Highlights and Donovan’s Goal: "



The USA vs. Algeria game in the Fifa World Cup 2010 proved to be all it was hyped up to be and then some. If the U.S. beat Algeria, they would control their own destiny and move on. If they tied and England won, the U.S. would be out.


Having caught just the highlights, those that were able to watch the whole game were certainly served a nice soccer treat. The game was fast paced–especially with the U.S. knowing that England had scored a goal in their game.


Going into the U.S. Algeria match, most  experts predicted the U.S. had a good chance of winning. However, Algeria seemed up to the challenge and kept the game scoreless through the entire game. It wasn’t until stoppage time, after the first 90 minutes, the Landon Donovan was able to nail a richochet off the Algerian defense into the back of the net for a USA win.






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Monday, June 21, 2010

President Obama Launches Next Phase in Fatherhood Efforts with The President's Fatherhood and Mentoring Initiative

President Obama Launches Next Phase in Fatherhood Efforts with The President's Fatherhood and Mentoring Initiative: "

Today, President Obama spoke in Washington, D.C. to discuss the importance of responsible fatherhood and mentoring to build healthy families and communities. At the event, the President announced the next steps in his longstanding agenda on fatherhood and personal responsibility: The President’s Fatherhood and Mentoring Initiative. The Initiative will continue the President’s effort to impact father absence in America through partnerships with fatherhood and family-serving groups and role models around the country.


The Initiative is a national call to action to address fatherlessness in America and includes the following steps:



The White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships and the Office of Public Engagement will continue to host community forums on fatherhood and personal responsibility around the country, in concert with local groups. The next forum is scheduled for New Mexico on August 10.
Organizations supporting the Initiative will reach out to communities and individuals around the country.  Individuals who sign up for the Fatherhood and Mentoring Initiative will receive e-newsletters featuring articles, tips and resources from prominent leaders in the fatherhood and family fields and information about model programs.
Organizations supporting the Initiative will work in specific ways to have a cultural impact on responsible fatherhood, from local forums with the National Parent Teachers Association to community trainings by the National Fatherhood Leaders Group (NFLG). Partners from the National PTA to the head of the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities have signed up to advance the President’s Fatherhood and Mentoring Initiative in communities around the country.

In addition, as the President has said, while no government program can remedy the problem of father absence in America, government must do its part to help fathers facing challenges. President Obama has proposed a new Fatherhood, Marriage and Families Innovation Fund that will scale up effective fatherhood and family-strengthening programs across the country. And recognizing that the best leg up for any family is a good job, the President has also provided funding through the Department of Labor for transitional jobs programs for noncustodial parents facing barriers to employment.


Last year, the President launched a national conversation on fatherhood and personal responsibility, and members of his Administration reached out across the country to hear from fathers and their families about the challenges they face.  Over the last year, Administration officials held events across the country including  a discussion with Secretary Duncan in New Hampshire about the link between fatherhood and educational achievement;  Secretary Locke talked to fathers in California about balancing the needs of their families with the demands of their jobs; Secretary Shinseki held a town hall for military and veteran dads in North Carolina; and Attorney General Holder traveled to Georgia for a forum about fathers in our criminal justice system.

"

Friday, June 18, 2010

Background on the President's Event Today in Columbus, Ohio

Background on the President's Event Today in Columbus, Ohio: "

ARRIVE PORT COLUMBUS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

11:40 AM EDT


GREETED BY


Gov. Ted Strickland

Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher

Mayor Michael Coleman


**Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy, Rep. Charlie Wilson, Rep. Steve Driehaus and Sen. Sherrod Brown will fly on Air Force on with President Obama to Ohio.**


REMARKS AT 10,000TH RECOVERY ACT HIGHWAY PROJECT

COLUMBUS, OH

12:15 PM EDT


Today, the President will travel to Columbus, Ohio to mark the first of many significant Recovery Act milestones coming this summer – the 10,000th Recovery Act road project to get underway.  The road improvement project in downtown Columbus is expected to create over 300 construction jobs and will contribute to the broader economic development effort underway in the area around Nationwide Children’s Hospital.  He will be joined on-stage by Secretary LaHood and 8 construction workers.  The audience will be made up of 35 elected officials and workers.  Prior to his remarks the President and Secretary LaHood will meet with the 8 construction workers and receive a brief tour of the Recovery Act project.


Additional information on Administration-wide Recovery Summer events can be found HERE


Recovery Summer Fact Sheet is available HERE.


RECOVERY ACT FUNDING IN COLUMBUS AND FRANKLIN COUNTY



Columbus and the surrounding area has received approximately $729 million in Recovery Act funding. Highlights included below:
The Small Business Administration guaranteed nearly $44-53 million to businesses in Columbus.  Examples of Columbus recipients of SBA guaranteed loans include:

Eating establishments (T&L Cuisine, LLC received $50,000 and Victorian’s Midnight CafĂ© received $81,000)
Medical facilities (Gateway Wellness Center received $150,000)
Service establishments (Joseph Tree Services, LLC received $168,000 and Klean A Kar, Inc. received $672,000)


Franklin County received over $91 million in funding from the Department of Transportation for highways, transit, and aviation projects - including more than $38 million for Columbus.
Franklin County received Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants of nearly $11 million.
The City of Columbus received nearly $13 million from the Department of Justice for the COPS Hiring Recovery Program, awarding 50 officers
The Department of Housing and Urban Development provided over $9 million for the Public Housing Capital Fund in Franklin County.

Additionally, approximately $4.5 million dollars in grants were provided for the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program in Franklin County.


Over $1.2 million was provided to Franklin County by the Department of Education in the form of Federal Work Study grants.  These payments are awarded to college students to provide part-time employment to help students meet educational expenses.

RECOVERY ACT FUNDING IN OHIO


Total Jobs & Spending



JOBS CREATED AND SAVED – CEA estimates that 108,000 jobs were created or saved by the Recovery Act in Ohio through March, 2010.
TOTAL SPEND – More than $12.6 billion in Recovery funds has been made available to Ohio – and more than $7.5 billion has already been spent.

Investing in Infrastructure

         



CONSTRUCTION – 462 transportation projects have been obligated in Ohio, totaling over $1.1 billion.
SMALL BUSINESS – 2,663 Recovery Act-backed small business loans have been given to Ohio small businesses, supporting more than $803 million in lending.

Relief to Individuals


TAX RELIEF – Because of the Making Work Pay tax credit, 4.5 million Ohio working families will collectively receive $2.2 billion in tax relief.


UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS – More than 840,000 Ohio residents have expanded unemployment benefits because of the Recovery Act.


STIMULUS PAYMENTS – More than 2.1 million Ohio seniors, veterans and other high-need residents have received one-time economic relief payments of $250, totaling more than $532 million.


Helping States



TEACHERS – Close to 12,000 education positions were reported as funded by the Recovery Act in Q1 2010 in Ohio – which has received close to $1.8 billion in State Fiscal Stabilization Funds (SFSF).
MEDICAID – The Recovery Act has already made over $2.3 billion available to help prevent additional Medicaid cuts in Ohio.  The state of Ohio has spent more than $2 billion of the available funds.
‘COPS’ PROGRAM:  Law enforcement agencies in Ohio received over $79 million in funding from the Recovery Act to support 336 police officers’ salaries and benefits for three years."

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Message from the President on the Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to North Korea

Message from the President on the Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to North Korea: "

TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES:


Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)) provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless, prior to the anniversary date of its declaration, the President publishes in the Federal Register and transmits to the Congress a notice stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the anniversary date.  In accordance with this provision, I have sent to the Federal Register for publication the enclosed notice stating that the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13466 of June 26, 2008, is to continue in effect beyond June 26, 2010.


The existence and the risk of proliferation of weapons-usable fissile material on the Korean Peninsula constitute a continuing unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.  For this reason, I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency and maintain certain restrictions with respect to North Korea and North Korean nationals.


BARACK OBAMA


THE WHITE HOUSE,

June 14, 2010.

"

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Weekly Address: President Obama Calls on Senate Republicans to Allow a Vote to Protect Medicare Reimbursements

Weekly Address: President Obama Calls on Senate Republicans to Allow a Vote to Protect Medicare Reimbursements: "

WASHINGTON – In this week’s address, President Barack Obama called on Senate Republicans to stop blocking a vote to prevent a 21 percent pay cut for doctors who see Medicare patients – a pay cut that will hurt America’s seniors and their doctors. Since 2003, Congress, under Republican and Democratic leadership, has deferred these cuts in Medicare reimbursements from going into effect. The President is committed to finding a responsible, long term solution to this problem, but it is not acceptable to punish America’s seniors or the physicians who treat them. If Congress does not act, then doctors will start receiving lower Medicare reimbursements next week, which could lead to seniors losing their doctors. 


The full audio of the address is available HERE. The video will be available online at www.whitehouse.gov at 6:00 am ET, Saturday, June 12, 2010.


Remarks of President Barack Obama

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Weekly Address

Washington, DC


More than a decade ago, Congress set up a formula that governs how doctors get paid by the Medicare program.  The intent was to slow the growth of Medicare costs, but the result was a formula that has proposed cutting payments for America’s doctors year after year after year.  These are cuts that would not only jeopardize our physicians’ pay, but our seniors’ health care.


Since 2003, Congress has acted to prevent these pay cuts from going into effect.  These votes were largely bipartisan, and they succeeded when Democrats ran Congress and when Republicans ran Congress – which was most of the time.  


This year, a majority of Congress is willing to prevent a pay cut of 21% -- a pay cut that would undoubtedly force some doctors to stop seeing Medicare patients altogether.  But this time, some Senate Republicans may even block a vote on this issue.  After years of voting to defer these cuts, the other party is now willing to walk away from the needs of our doctors and our seniors. 


Now, I realize that simply kicking these cuts down the road another year is not a long-term solution to this problem.  For years, I have said that a system where doctors are left to wonder if they’ll get fairly reimbursed makes absolutely no sense.  And I am committed to permanently reforming this Medicare formula in a way that balances fiscal responsibility with the responsibility we have to doctors and seniors.  In addition, we’re already taking significant steps to slow the growth of Medicare costs through health insurance reform – not by targeting doctors and seniors, but by eliminating 50% of the waste, fraud, and abuse in the system by 2012.  This not only strengthens Medicare, it saves taxpayer dollars. 


I’m absolutely willing to take the difficult steps necessary to lower the cost of Medicare and put our budget on a more fiscally sustainable path.  But I’m not willing to do that by punishing hard-working physicians or the millions of Americans who count on Medicare.  That’s just wrong.  And that’s why in the short-term, Congress must act to prevent this pay cut to doctors. 


If they don’t act, doctors will see a 21% cut in their Medicare payments this week.  This week, doctors will start receiving these lower reimbursements from the Medicare program.  That could lead them to stop participating in the Medicare program.  And that could lead seniors to lose their doctors. 


We cannot allow this to happen.  We have to fix this problem so that our doctors can get paid for the life-saving services they provide and keep their doors open.  We have to fix this problem to keep the promise of Medicare for our seniors so that they get the health care they deserve.  So I urge Republicans in the Senate to at least allow a majority of Senators and Congressmen to stop this pay cut.  I urge them to stand with America’s seniors and America’s doctors. 


Thanks.   


 

"

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Presidential Delegation to Bethlehem to Attend the Palestine Investment Conference

Presidential Delegation to Bethlehem to Attend the Palestine Investment Conference: "

President Barack Obama today announced the designation of a Presidential Delegation to Bethlehem to attend the Palestine Investment Conference from June 2-4, 2010. 


The Honorable George Mitchell, Special Envoy for Middle East Peace will lead the delegation.


Members of the Presidential Delegation:


The Honorable Neal Wolin, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury

Mr. Daniel Rubinstein, American Consul General in Jerusalem

Mr. Alonzo Fulgham, USAID Chief Operating Officer

Ms. Mara Rudman, Deputy Special Envoy for Middle East Peace

Dr. Ziad Asali, President and Founder of the American Task Force on Palestine

Mr. Saed Nashef, General Partner, Middle East Venture Capital Fund

"

Woman Sues Over Directions

Letter from the President Regarding the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act

Letter from the President Regarding the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act: "

TEXT OF A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

TO THE CHAIRMEN AND RANKING MEMBERS OF THE

HOUSE AND SENATE COMMITTEES ON ARMED SERVICES

AND THE JUDICIARY, THE CHAIRMAN AND RANKING MEMBER

OF THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS,

THE ACTING CHAIRMAN AND RANKING MEMBER OF THE

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS, THE CHAIRMAN

AND RANKING MEMBER OF THE HOUSE PERMANENT SELECT

COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE, THE CHAIRMEN AND RANKING

MEMBERS OF THE SENATE COMMITTEES ON FOREIGN RELATIONS

AND FINANCE, AND THE CHAIRWOMAN AND VICE-CHAIRMAN

OF THE SENATE SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE


Dear Mr. Chairman:   (Dear Madam Chairwoman:)

(Dear Mr. Vice-Chairman:) (Dear Representative:) 

(Dear Senator:)  


This report to the Congress, under section 804(a) of the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, 21 U.S.C. 1901-1908 (the "Kingpin Act"), transmits my designations of the following five foreign individuals as appropriate for sanctions under the Kingpin Act and reports my direction of sanctions against them under the Act:


 Haji Agha Jan Alizai (Afghanistan)

 Haji Bando (Afghanistan)

 Ousmane Conte (Guinea)

 Sergio Enrique Villarreal Barragan (Mexico)

 Mohamed Bachir Suleman (Mozambique)


Sincerely,

BARACK OBAMA

"

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Why Is The Senate Putting The Brakes On Wall Street Reform?

Why Is The Senate Putting The Brakes On Wall Street Reform?: "

Statement by the President on Financial Reform


“I am deeply disappointed that Senate Republicans voted in a block against allowing a public debate on Wall Street reform to begin. Some of these Senators may believe that this obstruction is a good political strategy, and others may see delay as an opportunity to take this debate behind closed doors, where financial industry lobbyists can water down reform or kill it altogether. But the American people can’t afford that. A lack of consumer protections and a lack of accountability on Wall Street nearly brought our economy to its knees, and helped cause the pain that has left millions of Americans without jobs and without homes. The reform that both parties have been working on for a year would prevent a crisis like this from happening again, and I urge the Senate to get back to work and put the interests of the country ahead of party.”


So what do you think the solution is to Wall Street reform? Put your comments below…


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